Method and apparatus for hydrocarbon conversion



NOV- 13, 1,951 UTTERBACK ET AL 2,574,850

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HYDROCARBON CONVERSION Filed Jan. 2, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET l AGENT on ATTORNE NOV- v13 1951 E. UTTERBACK ET AL METHOD AND APPARATUS F OR HYDROCARBON CONVERSION Filed Jan. 2, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Fen/wf amm/55mm Q Y AGENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 13, 1951 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HYDRO- CARBON CONVERSION Ernest Utterback, New York, and Frank C. Fahnestock, Manhasset, N. Y., assignors to Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, Incorporated, a corporation of New York Application January 2, 1947, Serial No. 719,724

26 Claims.

This invention has to do with a method and apparatus for conversion of high boiling liquid hydrocarbons or mixed phase hydrocarbons to lower boiling hydrocarbons in the presence of a moving particle-form contact mass material which may or may not exhibit catalytic properties with respect to the conversion reaction. Typical of such processes is the catalytic conversion of heated liquid hydrocarbons to lower boiling gasoline containing gaseous products by the contacting of a high boiling liquid charge at temperatures of the order of 850 F. and upwards with a particle-form adsorbent catalytic material. Other exemplary processes are the thermal visbreaking, coking or cracking of liquid or mixed phase hydrocarbon charge by contact with heated particle-formV inert contact materials. 1 Y

In such processes wherein the contact material is catalytic in nature it may partake of the nature of natural or treated clays, bauxite, activated alumina or synthetic associations of silica,

alumina or silica and alumina to which other substances such as certain metallic oxides may be added in small amountsfor specific purposes. When the contact material is inert in character it may partake of the form of refractory materials such as zirkite, corhart material, or mullite or it may partake of the form of stones or metallic particles or balls.

This invention is specifically directed to certain method and apparatus improvements in a hydrocarbon conversion system wherein the contact material passes cyclically through a conversion zone wherein it is contacted at suitable conversion temperatures with a liquid orA mixed phase high boiling liquid hydrocarbon charge to effect conversion thereof and then through a regeneration or reconditioning zone wherein it is contacted at elevated temperatures with a suitable gas for conditioning said contact material to a condition suitable for reuse in said conversion zone.

A type of conversion system which has met with wide commercial success because of its practical advantages is one where in the contact material moves as a substantially compact column within the conversion zone. In such systems it has been customary to supply the contact material into the conversion chamber through one or more tubes extending downwardly through a short upper section of said chamber and terminating at the surface of the column of contact material within said chamber. When a liquid ormixed phase `hydrocarbon charge is to be con-'- verted it is desirable to supply all or a large part of the heat required for conversion in the incoming contact material. This means that the incoming contact material and the tubes through which it enters and other metal surfaces in the upper section of the conversion vessel exist at temperatures suiiiciently high to cause, upon contact by the liquid hydrocarbon charge, rapid conversion of said charge. As aresult, there is a marked tendency for coke to form on the hot tubes and metal surfaces in the upper section of the conversion vessel. This coke eventually breaks o from the metal surfaces in large chunks which pass downwardly through the converter and plug up restricted passages for solid flow near the lower end of the converter and in other portions of the cyclic system. Another problem that may arise when an attempt is made to convert liquid hydrocarbons in the presence kof a contact material is that of uniformly distributing the liquid hydrocarbon charge on the contact material in all portions of the vessel cross-sectional area and the prevention of liquid and vapor channeling through certain portions of the contact material column.

A major object of this invention is the provision in a system for conversion of liquid ormixed phase hydrocarbons in the presence of a particle-form contact material of an improved method and apparatus for hydrocarbon and contact material introduction to the conversion zone which avoids the difficulties hereinabove described.

A specific object is theprovision in a continuous cyclic process for conversion of high boiling liquid and mixed phase hydrocarbon charges A to lower boiling gaseous hydrocarbon products of a method and apparatus permitting uniform distribution of the hydrocarbon charge over the surface of the contact material in the conversion zone without excessive accumulation of coky deposits upon the metal surfaces within said zone.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following description of the drawings of which Figure 1 is an elevational view, partially in section, showing a preferred form of the invention, Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is an elevational view, in section, showing a modified form of the invention. All of these drawings are highly diagrammatic in form. Y

Turning now to Figure l, we find a diagrammatic ow sketch of a continuous hydrocarbon conversion process. In Figure 1, there is shown a regeneration vessel I0, provided with combustion supporting gas inlet II and heat exchange fluid inlet I2 near its lower end and flue gas outlet I3 and heat exchange fluid outlet I4 near its upper end. The heat exchange fluid inlet and outlet connect into heat transfer tubes (not shown) distributed within the regenerator. at the top of the regenerator and a solid material outlet I6 at the lower end thereof bearing a ow control valve 32. It will be understood that regenerators of other construction may be substituted for that shown within the scope of this invention as long as such modfied constructions permit combustion regeneration of moving particles of spent contact mass materials at controlled elevated temperatures. In systems wherein the contact material is an inert material, the Vessel I may take the form of a reconditioning apparatus in whatever form may be required for conditioning the contact material forreuse in the conversion zone. Also shown in Figure 1 is a converter I1, a supply hopper I8 located thereabove and' conveyors I9 and 29 adapted to' transfer hot contact material particles between the regenerator and converter vessels. The conveyors may takethe form of continuous bucket elevators for example; Extending across the upper section of vessel I1 is a partition 2| which serves to provide a seal chamber 22 in the upper end of vessel I1 and a conversion chamber 23 therebelow. A plurality of spaced conduits 24, which may be arranged on a circular pattern as shown in Figure 2, depend from partition 2I to a level therebelow in the conversion chamber 23. It will be noted that the conduits 24 servel as passages for solid flowv from seal chamber 22 to the surface 25 of the contact material column within the conversion chamber and that the conduits extend onlyv through that portion of the' horizontal cross-sectional area of the upper portion of the chamber which is near the outer periphery of said chamber. Another conduit 26 extends downwardly from a central portion of partition 2| to a level in the upper section ofv gas space 21 in' the conversion chamber. A flow throttling device is provided below the lower end of the conduit 29. The flow throttling device broadly consists of a plate 28 having Also provided is a solid material inlet I a hole 29 therein and a receiving funnel 39 positioned around .the hole and a slide plate 3| therebelow which may be adjusted so that a hole 33 therein coincides partially or entirely with the hole 29 in plate 28 or so as to entirely block the flow through hole 29. A rod 34v is connected to the slide plate 3l and passes through stuilng box 35 on the vessel shell to permit adjustment of the throttling device from a point outside the vessel I1. The throttling device is supported by means of angle irons 36 and 31 which extend across the chamber in a direction perpendicular to the face of the drawing. Also supported by the angle irons 35 and 31 is a skirt 38 which is open on either end and positioned centrally with its axis vertical within the vessel I1. The skirt 38 tapers inwardly slightly so as to direct solid ilow toward the center of the chamber. A conical shaped baille 39 is supported by rods 49 sub*- stantially centrally within the skirt 38 andV below the flow throttling device. 'Ihe diameterV of the base of the baille 39 is less thanthat of the skirt 38 so as'to provide'an annular space for solid ilow therebetween. A liquid spray device 4I is positioned substantially centrally of the vessel cross-sectional area adjacent the lower end of skirt 38. Liquid or mixed phase hydrocarbon charge may be supplied to the spray device 4I throughA pipe 42'. A similar spray 43 and feed pipe 44' may be provided at a lower level in gas space 21. A contact material gravity feed leg 45 extends between hopper I8 and seal chamber 22 and a conduit 49 connects into seal chamber 22 for introduction of an inert gas thereinto. In the lower section of the vessel I'I there are provided two vertically spaced rows of spaced gable-roofed gas collecting troughs 48` and 49. Adjacent troughs are connected by means of nipples 59, and feed pipes 5I and. 52v and 5I' and 52 connect into the end troughs in rows 48 and 49, respectively. The pipes 5I and 52 and 5I' and 52' are in turn manifolded into outlet pipes 53 and 53' respectively on opposite sides of the vessel. Below the levels of the collector troughs are provided three -spacedpartitions 54, 55 and 56. A plurality of uniformly distributed circular rows of nipples 51 depend from the uppermost partition 54 and a lesser number of rows of nipples 58 depend from the next lower partition 55. The nipples 58 are horizontally staggered proportionately between the nipples 51- thereabove. A circular row of holes 59 are provided in the lowermost partition 56, the row of holes being horizontally staggered: with respect to the two rows of nipples 58 thereabove. An outlet conduit 69 bearing flow control valve 6I is provided on the lower end of the vessel I1.'

Inl operation, contact material particles are` supplied from hopper I8 through leg 45- into the seal chamber 22. The contact material passes from the seal chamber 22, throughl conduits 24, directly ontothesurface ofthe column of contact material within the conversion chamber 23. TheV temperature of the contact material so supplied to the conversion chamber should be suitable for supporting the intended hydrocarbon conversion. Liquid or mixed phase hydrocarbon charge is sprayed into the gas space 21 from spray devices 4I and/or 43. The spray of liquid hydrocarbons is limited to the central portion of the vessel cross-sectional area. On the otherv l hand, the conduits 24 through which the hot contact material charge enters are positioned only along the outer periphery' of the chamber instead of being uniformly spaced throughout the cross-sectional area of the chamber. In this manner, contact betweenl liquid charge and hot metal surfaces in the gas space 2l is limited so as to avoid the tendency for coke formation on suchsurfaces. ency for such coke formation may be still further avoided and the distribution of they liquid charge on the contact material may be greatly improved by also introducing contact material into the upper section of gas space 21 through conduit 26' at a rate controlled by the slide valve therebelow; The contact materialpassing from the conduit 25 which is horizontally'centrally positioned falls onto' the conical shaped baille 39V and' falls there'- from between the annular' space between baille 39 and skirt 38 as a shower" of freely falling particles, which shower is' restricted by means of the bailling substantially to' only a centralv portion of the'gas space 2"!v until the particles reach the surface 25 of the contact material column therebelow. Liquid or mixedl phase hydrocarbon charge from spray device 4IV and/or 43' is sprayed' It has been found that the tendangabe intothat central portion Mythe-gas 4space 21;; within which said shower of particles is maine;

tained so. that the liquid hydrocarbon charge is uniformly deposited Vupon the showering contact material particles and prevented from reaching the hot metal surfaces adjacent the outer pe-H riphery of space 21. The contact material particles from the shower soon uniformly distribute themselves across the entire column crosssectional area so as to provide uniform contacting of` the liquid hydrocarbons with all-the contact material.

subjected to a preliminary fractionation` to separate the heavy liquid portion of the charge from If desired, in operations wherein theL charge stock is partially vaporizable at the del-g. sired conversion temperature,V the charge may bev thevaporizable portion. Then the liquid may be.-

introduced in heated condition through noz.-V

zles 4I and/or 43 and the" heated hydrocarbon vapor charge may be separately introduced toV The 1011-v tact material and liquid hydrocarbons .pass downwardly through the conversion zone and.

the converter through conduit 80.

the liquid hydrocarbons are converted to gaseous hydrocarbon products. It will be under@ stood that the term gaseous as used hereinin zone through collector troughs `48 and 49 and. pipes 5I and 52, andv5l and 52', respectively.y

Theflow in the pipes 5|, 52, 5I and 52is throttled so as to provide the proper ilow of products from each rowof collector troughs. Used contact material flows downwardly through the partition arrangement 51, 58 and 59 in the lower end of vessel I1 and is withdrawn through out-,- letconduit 60 at a rate controlled by valve l5L The partition arrangement 51, 58 andi59 is such as will insure uniform withdrawal of contact mal terial from all portions of the chamber cross? sectional area in the conversion zone thereabove. It will be noted that the rate of contact material withdrawal through conduit 60 is equal to the sum of the rate of contact material introduction through conduit` 26 and through conduits 24. Usually, it is preferable to introduce the major portion'of the contact material charge through the central conduit` 26 so that most4 of the contacty material charged may be immediately contacted with the liquid phase hydrocarbons sprayed into the gas space 21 as saidv contact material showers downwardly through the central core of said gas space. In such an operation, it is important to maintain the level of the surface of the column of contact material substantially constant within the conversion zone. This is automatically accomplished in the.

operation described hereinabove since the contact material flow in pipes 24 is automatically throttled only by the column surface level. Thus,

only as much contact material passes through conduits 24 as is required to maintain the column surface levelrsubstantially at 25 as shown. In order to prevent escape of hydrocarbon vapors from the conversion zone into seal charn-A ber 22 an inert seal gas such as steam or flue gas may be introduced through conduitAG intov the seal chamber 22 at a rate solcontrolledby,` diaphragm operated valvej:54 ,and differential pressure controller; 6,5 as t0, mainianfaaisei; 7g; from .vessel/.19.- -may be provided@ .iiglQWsr gaseous atmosphere in zone 22 at a pressure slightly higher (for example it-V2 lb. per sq. in.) than the pressure in gas space 21.4 An inert purge gas such as steam or flue gas may be introduced through conduit 61 below partition 54 to strip hydrocarbons from the outowing contact material. Spent or used contact material passes via conduit 60 into conveyor I9 by which it is conducted to vessel I0. If the contact material is an adsorbent catalyst, air or other oxygen containing gas is introduced at II into vessel IU to burn the carbonaceous contaminant from the contact material. withdrawn at I3. A suitable heat exchange fluid introduced at conduit I2 and withdrawn at conduit I4 may be passed through tubes within vessel- I0 which communicate with conduits I2 and I4V under conditions suitable to control the regenerating catalysttemperature below a heat damaging level. For clay type adsorbents the heat damaging level is of the order of l200 F. While for gel-type catalysts it may be somewhat higher. Regenerated contact material flows via conduit IG to conveyor 20 by which it is returned to reactor supply hopper I8.

It should be understood that the invention is not considered to be limited to the specic apparatus construction described hereinabove.

Reaction vessels having cross-sectional shapes other than circular as shown may be employed.

In such cases the shape of skirt 38 and baille 39' should be mcdied accordingly. Moreover, the

other baille systems than the skirt and cone system described hereinabove are contemplated as long as they are adapted to provide a shower of freely falling contact material particles through a central portion of the gas space 21. ample, instead of a single pipe 26, several smaller pipes of similar length may be employed. Such,

pipes would all be positioned and uniformly spaced in that central portion of the area of partition 2l which is included within the projected area of the skirt 38. Separate flow control devices connected to a single adjustment shaftmay be provided below such pipes, and several smaller baffles may be employed to replace baille 39. Also several inlet jets, may be spaced uniformly at a given single level within the lower section of curtain 38 to replace the single jet 4I. In vessels of very large horizontal cross-sectional area, it may be desirable to provide several uniformly spaced shower units Within a central portion of the vessel cross-sectional area instead of the single unit shown in Figure 1. Each shower unit would comprise a pipe 29, flow control deviceV 23, baille 39, curtain 38 and jet 4I so as t0 provide a plurality of contact material and liquid oil showers within a central portion of the hori zcntal area of a single vessel of large diameter..-

of solid material from all sections of the vessel. cross-sectional area may be substituted for the:

apparatus specifically shown in Figure 1.

A somewhat modified form of the invention may be seen in Figure 3 wherein there is shownv only the upper section of a conversion vessel 101 having a seal chamber 1I positioned thereabove. It will be understood that provision for gaseous product and used contactmaterial withdrawal Flue gas may be` For eX-..

tion (not shown) substantially as is shown for vessel l1 in Figure 1. The seal chamber 1i is separated from the conversion vessel and conduits 13 are provided for contact material flow from chamber 1| to the surface of the column ofv contact material in chamber 10. vIt will be noted that the conduits 13 do not pass through the gas space 27 within the upper section of vessel at all but enter vessel 10 only at a plurality of points around its periphery substantially at the level at which it is desired to maintain the 'surface of the contact material column. By this construction, any chance for liquid hydrocarbon charge to contact the hot metal surface of the contact material feed pipes before the column of contact material is reached is eliminated. Contact material may also be supplied to the central portion of the converter crosssectional area through conduit 14. Thethrottle device and conical baille below the lower end of conduit 14 are substantially the same as those same devices shown in Figure 1. The skirt 15 differs from the skirt 3B of Figure 1 in that it is not tapered inwardly, a feature which is not in all cases necessary.

While the provision for contact material introduction directly onto the surface of the contact material column through conduits which extend through only the outer edge of the gas space above the column in the conversion zone or through conduits which do not extend through said gas space at all as shown in Figure 3 in itself serves to substantially limit the formation of large particles of coke in the system, this invention in its preferred form contemplates also the provision of the shower of contact material charge in the central portion of the gas space above the contact material column into which central portion the liquid hydrocarbon charge is sprayed.

The exact dimensions of the several elements which make up the improved apparatus combination described hereinabove will, of course, be dependent to a certain extent upon the particular operation and operating conditions for which the apparatus is to be employed. In general, it has been found desirable to provide a vertical distance of the order of 5 to l5 feet between the contact material baling such as baiiles'38 and 39 of Figure 1 and the level at which the contact material column is to be maintained in the conversion chamber. The relative dimensions of the skirt 38 and baffle 30 and the vessel Il will, of course, vary with the dimensions of the vessel H and the desired rate of contact material flow.

As an example of a satisfactory construction, in a catalytic cracking reactor having a diameter of about 16 feet about 24 feed pipes such as pipes 24 in Figure 1 having a diameter of about 31/2 inches were spaced at intervals around the periphery of the upper section of the reactor vessel. The central feed pipe 26 was about 10 inches in diameter, the conical baille 39 measured about 42 inches in height and 6 feet, 11 inches in diameter at its base A cylindrical skirt baille of the type shown in Figure 3 and having an internal diameter of about '7 feet, 3 inches was provided. The skirt baille extended about one foot below the base of the conical baille. A vertical space of about 10 feet was provided between the lower edge of skirt 3'8 'and the lower Aends -of pipe 24.

In this apparatus, the total rate of contact material flow was of the order of Y100 tons per hour of which about seventy-five to eighty percent entered Athrough the central 'conduit 26. In "the above apparatus, the rate of fluid hydrocarl'ioii charge was of the order of- 1500 to 3000 barrels (42's) per day. In the apparatus of the above example the catalyst falls from the annular passage between the skirt baille and the conicalbafA fle as a tubular curtain of extending down to the bed surface.

The conditions of operation in the apparatus of this invention will vary widely depending upon the particular operational application involved. In general, the contact material should be supplied at a temperature suitable to support the conversion desired. This temperature will vary somewhat depending upon the particular contact' material to oil ratio chosen. In catalytic cracking operations on clay-type catalysts, the contact material charge to oil charge ratio may vary from about 1.0 to 20 parts by weight of contact material per part of oil. The oil space velocity may be within the range of about 0.3 to 10.0 volumes of oil (measured at F.) per hour per volume of contact material column within the conversion zone. The contact material in the case of catalytic cracking operations may enter the conversion chamber at temperatures of the order'of 800 F. to 1200 F., and may undergo a temperature drop of the order of 15 F. to 300 F. in passing through the conversion zone. In the case of thermal cracking operations over inert.'l contact materials, the contact material temperature may be much higher.

In general, it has been found that for preferable operation the amount of contact material entering through conduits 24 (Figure 1) should be ofthe order of about 20 to 50 percent of the -total contact material passed through the converter, the remainder of the contact material being supplied through conduit 26 (Figure 1'). In such a process, it has been found desirable to control the contact material particle size broadly within the range 3 to 100 mesh and preferably Within the range about 4 `to 20 ymesh by Tyler standard screen analysis. The percentage of fines present in the contact material mass should be maintained as'low as possible.

The invention may be employed for conversion of hydrocarbon charge stocks which are partially vaporizable under the conversion conditions or it may be employed for the conversion of reduced crudes and the like which consist for .the

most part of hydrocarbons boiling above the Adesired average conversion temperature. It is usually preferable to heat the hydrocarbon charge to atemperature of the order of 600 F. to 900 F.

before introducing it into the conversion chamber. f

It should be understood that the particular details of apparatus construction and the examples of operating conditions and process applications of the invention lgiven hereinabove arel intended as illustrative and are in no way to be-construed as -limiting the scope of this invention except as it may be limited by the following claims.

We claim:

1. The method for converting high boiling liquid and mixed phase hydrocarbons to 'lower boiling gaseous hydrocarbons which comprises maintaining a substantially compact columnof particle-form rcontact material throughout a portion ofthe length of a confined substantially vertical conversion zone so as -to provide a gas space within the upper `portion of s aid zone, Vmaintaining a/conilnedy accumulation of particle-form coning contact material at a suitableelevated con of4 uniformly spaced lines near the periphery of 4said conversion zone, withdrawing contact mafterial from the lower portion of said conversion zone at a controlled rate, introducing a spray of 4a high boiling hydrocarbon charge at least par- 'tiall'y in the liquid phase into said Igas space in the upper portion of said conversion zone at a lo- 'cation positioned substantially centrally of the horizontal cross-sectional area of said gas space, 'introducing at least one separate stream of said contact material at a controlled rate from said :accumulation into the upper section of said gas space substantially centrallyA of its horizontal A,cross-sectional area, passing contact material from said stream downwardly through a central portion of said gas space as a dispersed, freely 'falling shower of particles, so as to contact said liquid hydrocarbon spray in said gas space before falling onto the surface of said column, passing the hydrocarbon charge through said conversion zone concurrently with the contact material flow in said column withdrawing gaseous conversion products from said column within the lower section of said conversion zone, and maintaining an inert gaseousblanket withinsaid confined accumulation above said conversion zone to prevent flow ofhydrocarbons thereinto.

2. The method for conversion of high boiling liquid and mixed phase hydrocarbons in the presence of a moving particle-form solid contact material which method comprises substantially continuously introducing particle-form contact material at a suitable conversion supporting tem- -'perature into a conned, elongated conversion zone at a location near the outer periphery of said zone and substantially below the upper end of said zone, `passing said contact `material as a. substantially compact Acolumn downwardly through said zone, withdrawing particle-form contact material from the lower portion of said Azone at a controlled rate so as to maintain the surface of said column within said zone at the level of said location ofintroduction below the uppergend of said'zone,introducing high boiling liquid hydrocarbons into said conversion zone as a liquid spray vemanating from a location in the central portion of the horizontal cross-sectional area offs'aid zone and ata level substantially above the surface of said column, introducing a 'separate stream of contact material into said ,conversion zone at a central-location positioned above the level of said liquid hydrocarbon introduction, causing the contact material from said stream 'to shower downwardly through a central portionv of said zone onto the surface of vsaid column so that it may be contacted with said liquidr hydrocarbonspraybefore reaching ful the surface of said column, passing said hydrocai-bons downwardly within said column to effect conversion of said liquid hydrocarbons to lower boiling gaseous `hydrocarbons and withdrawing gaseous hydrocarbons-from the lower portion of said column.

3. The method for the cracking conversion of high boiling liquid hydrocarbons in the presence of aimoving particle-form catalyst which L10 comprises: maintaining a substantially compact column of particle-form catalyst throughout a lower portion of an elongated, substantially vertical, conned conversion zone, maintaining a confined accumulation of said catalyst above said Yconversion zone at. 1a temperature suitable for supporting the hydrocarbon conversion in said conversion zone," supplying freshly regenerated catalyst t'o said accumulation, passing contact material downwardly from said accumulation in a plurality .of confined compact streams extending downwardly throughthe upper portion 'of said conversion zone and down to the surface of said column within said conversion zone.' said confinedl streams extending downwardly through only that portion 'of the cross-sectional area of -the upper'portion of said conversion zone which close tothe outer periphery of said conversion zone, -introdu'cinga separate stream of catalyst from said accumulation into the upper portion of said conversion zone at a level substantially above the surface of. said column of catalyst, throttling the now of said last named stream of catalyst, baffling the flow of catalyst from 'said last named stream-so as 'to cause said catalyst i to fall through acentral portion of the upper section of said zone onto thesurface ofv said 'column as a shower of dispersed freely falling particles, withdrawingl spent catalyst from the lower section of said conversion zone at a controlled rate, spraying a heated high Vboiling liquid hydrocarbon charge into the upper section of said conversion zone at'a central location and at a level substantially above the surface of said column so-that said liquid-'hydrocarbon-charge is `substantially uniformly contacted with said catalyst raining downwardly through the upper portion of said conversion zone before it reaches vthe surface-of said column, withdrawing gaseous hydrocarbon products from the lower section of said conversion zone, and maintaining a substantially inert'gaseous pressure in said accumulation to prevent escape of gaseous hydrocarbons from said conversion zone .thereinto. 4. The method for conversion of high boilin liquid hydrocarbons to lower boiling gaseous hydrocarbons in thepresence of a moving .particleform contact materialwhichcomprises: introducing heated high boiling liquid hydrocarbons downwardly into the upper. section of a con-4 fined conversion zoneas .aiinely divided spray,

.introducing particle-form vcontact material into the upper section .of said zone at a suitabletemcausing said contact material to shower as freely falling dispersed particles downwardly through an upper portion of said conversion zone onto a column of said contact material in said conversion zone therebelow in such a. manner as` to contact said spray of liquid hydrocarbons before reaching said column, passing said hydrocarbons downwardly within said column to effect conversion to lowerboiling gaseous hydrocarbon products, withdrawing gaseous hydrocarbon products from the lower section of said conversion zone, withdrawing used particle-form contact material from the lower portionrof said conversion zone at a controlled rate, and supplying contact material 4at a suitable temperature for saidihydrocarbon conversion through at least one separate .confined passage substantially directly onto the surface of said column of contact material in said conversion zone at a rate sufflcient to maintain "substantially constant the level of the surface of Asaid column. i

'5. The method of claim 4 characterized in that the rate of contact material supply to said conversion'r zone through `said confined stream 'directly onto the Vsurface 'of said column is -within the range 20 to 50 percent of the total rateof contact material introduction to lsaid conversion zone'.

'6. The method for Vconverting high boiling -liquid and mixed phase hydrocarbons to lower boiling gaseous hydrocarbons which comprises: maintaining 'a ysubstantially compact column of vparticle-form contact material throughout a lower portion of a c'onned, enlongated con- -version zone, causing said contact material in said column to move downwardly by withdrawing used 'contact material at a controlled vrate from the llower section of said conver- 'si'on zone, replenishi'ng said column by directing contact vmaterial at a suitable conversion 'supporting temperature as at least one sub"- s't'antially 'confined stream 'directly onto the lsurface 'of said column and by separately introduc- 'ing` rcontact ymaterial into the upper portion of "said lconversion zone a substantial distance above Lthe surface of said column 'and causing said last named contactmaterial to pass as a rain of free@ lyialling particles "downwardly through the upfp'e'r portion of said conversion zone konto the 'surfacevof said column, spraying a heated high 'boiling Tlfuidd'hlydrocarbon charge into the upper portion of said conversion zone to contact said rain 'of oontactmat'erial particles as it falls to'- wards th'e surfac'e'of said "column and withdraw inggas'eous Ahydr'ocarbon 'conversion products -roin the lower' portion 'of said conversion zone.

'7. An apparatus `fo r conducting the conversion of nigh toning liquid hydrocarbons to lower bouhydijociarbons inthe presence of a moving particle-form 'contactlmaterial lwhich apparatus comprises: ,means lc'leilnir'ig an elongated contersionchamber adapted for confining a compact -column o f particle-form Contact material, "a coni-ined seal chamber above said conversion chamber, means to supply oontact material into 'said seal chamber, 'conduit means for now of contact 'materialn'eiitending downwardly from said 'seal chamlnr into sfai'dfconve'rsion chamber and lierrninatingn at a4 location substantially in the ce`ntral portion of its horizontal cross-sectional area and shortly below -its upper end, adjustable :how ,throttling means adjacent the lower end of said conduit means, baiiiing below the lower end of 'said conduit meansw'ithin said conversion chamber adapted to distribute the flow of contact material as as'horwe'r oi dispersed 'particles falling 'downwardly through a central portion of the upper section of vsaid conversion chamber, spray means positioned below said baiiling and substantially centrally of the chamber Ahorizontal cross-sectional area, means to supply liquid hydrocarbon charge to said spray means, a plurality of spaced conduits for solid flow extending downwardly from said seal chamber to a lplurality of A'points spaced within and 'near the periphery of said conversion chamber a substantial distance below said spray means, means to withdraw contact material Vfrom the lower portion Aof lsaid conversion chamber and Iflow throttle means associated therewith to permit control of the rate of contact material ilow, Isuch'asY t'omaintaina column of contact material 'within said conversion chamber, `means to subs'tanti'ally separately Awithdraw gaseous material from the lower section of said conversion cham.-

I2 ber and means to introduce an inert seal gas into said seal zone.

8. In a system of the type described for hydrocarbon conversion the apparatus which comprises in combination: a substantially vertical conver'- vsion vessel, a partition across said vessel in its upper section defining a seal chamber in the upper end of said vessel, conduit means to admit a seal gas into said seal chamber, means to intro'- duce particle-form Contact material in said seal chamber, a plurality of spaced conduits extending downwardly from said partition close to the vessel wall and terminating at a level substantially below said partition, at least one conduit dependent from said partition extending downwardly in the central portion of the vessel horizontal cross-sectional area and terminating substantially above the lower ends of said rst named conduits, flow throttle means adjacent the lower end of said last named conduit adapted for adjustment from a point outside said vessel, bafing below said flow throttle means adapted to shower contact material from said last named conduit Adownwardly through only a central portion oi' the chamber cross-sectional area, at least one substantially centrally positioned liquid spray device below said baiiie means to introduce liquid oil charge into said spray device, conduit means for solid withdrawal from the lower end of said vessel, flow throttling means associated with said last named conduit means, gas collecting members within the lower section of said vessel and means to withdraw gaseous material from said collecting members. I A n 9. In a system of the type described for hydrocarbon conversion the apparatus which comprises in 'combina-tion: a substantially vertical conversion vessel, a partition across said vessel rin its upper section defining a seal chamber in the upper end of said vessel, conduit 4means to admit avseal gas into said seal chamber, means to introduce particle-form contact material Ain said seal chamber, a plurality of spaced contduits extending downwardly from said partition Iclose to the vessel wall Aand terminating at a level substantially below said partition, at least one -condui-t dependent from said .partition extending downwardlyin the central portion of the vessel horizontal cross-sectional area and termi n'ating substantially above the lower ends of 'said rst named conduits, ow throttle means adjacent the lower end voit' said last Anamed conduit-adapted for adjustment from a point outside said vessel, a conical baiile centrally positioned vbelow said last named conduit, Ameans dening a vertically extending curtain around said baffle,

`said curtain enclosing a vvertical space in said chamber of substantially less horizontal dimensions than said chamber but of greater horizontal dimensions than the base of said baffle so as Vto provide a space for solid now between said -baiile and said curtain, at least one liquid spray device positioned substantially centrally of the horizontal vcross-sectional area of said chamber and adjacent the lowerend of said curtain, means tointroduce liquid oil charge into said spray device, conduit means for solid withdrawal from the -iower end of said vessel, Iiow throttling means Yassociated with said last vnamed conduit means, 'gas collecting `members within the lower section 'of said vessel and means to withdraw gaseous material from said collecting members.

l0. The method ior conversion of high boil- -ing liquid Ahydrocarbons to lower boiling gaseous hydrocarbons in the presence'of a moving para ammasso ticle-form contact material which comprises: in-

troducing heated high boiling liquid hydrocar- 1 bons downwardly into the upper section of a confined conversion zone as a finely divided `spray, introducingV particle-form contact material into the upper section of said zone at a suitable temperature for said hydrocarbon conversion and causing said contact material to shower `as freely falling dispersed particles downwardly through anl upper portion of said conversion zone onto a column of said contact material in said conversion zone therebelow in such a manner as to contact said spray of liquid hydrocarbons before reaching said column, passing said hydrocarbons downwardly within said column to e'ect conversion to lower boiling gaseous hyof said conversion zone at a controlled rate, and

--supplying contact material at a suitable temfperature 'for saaid hydrocarbon conversion :through 'at least one separate confined passage substantially directly onto the surface of said Acolumn of contact material in said conversion -zone at a rate suiiicient to maintain substantiallyV constant the level of the surface of said column. i 11. In; a system of the type described for hydrocarbon conversion the apparatus which com- -vprises in combination: a substantially vertical conversion vessel, a partition across said vessel in its upper section defining a `seal chamber in Athe upper end'of said vessel, conduit means to "admit a seal gas into said seal chamber, means to introducev particle-form contact material in said seal. chamber, a plurality of spaced conduits extending downwardly from said partition close to the vessel wall and terminating at a -level substantially below said partition. at least one conduit dependent from said partition extending downwardly in the central portion of the vessel horizontal cross-sectional area and terminating substantially above the lower ends `of said first named conduits. now throttle means `adiacent the lower end of said last named condu-it adapted for adiustment from a point outside said vessel. baffling below said flow throttle means adapted to shower contact material from said last named conduit downwardly through only a central portion of the chamber crosssectional area. at least one substantially centrally positioned liouid sprav device below said baille means to introduce liquid oil charge into said spray device. conduit means for introduc- -tion of vaporized charge to said vessel at a 'level above the lower ends of said first named conduits, conduit means for solid withdrawal f from the lower end of saidfvessel, iiow throt- .ytling means associated with said last named conduit means. gas collecting members within lthe* lower section of said vessel andr means to withdraw gaseous material from said collecting members. 12. An apparatus for conducting the conver- .slon of high boiling liquid hydrocarbons in the .presence of a moving contact material which comprises: an elongated conversion chamber adapted to conne a column of particle-form contact material, a plurality of solid feed conduits terminating on their lower ends at a plurality of points within said chamber spaced around and near its horizontal periphery and located in the upper section of said chamber but substantially below its upper end, means to withdraw contact material from the lower section of said chamber, a liquid spray device positioned within the upper section of said vessel above the level of the lower ends of said solid feed conduits, said spray device being positioned substantially centrally of the chamber crosssectional area, at least one separate feed conduit for solid material extending into the upper section of said chamber and terminating at a location above said spray device and substantially centrally of the chamber cross-sectional area, means to supply liquid oil charge to said spray device, and means to separately withdraw gaseous hydrocarbons from the lower section of said chamber.

13. An apparatus for conducting the conversion of high boiling liquid hydrocarbons in the presence of a moving contact material which comprises: an elongated conversion chamber adapted to confine a column of particle-form contact material, a plurality of solid feed conduits terminating on their lower ends at a plurality ofi points *within said chamber spaced around and near its horizontal periphery and located in the upper section of said chamber but substantially below its upperend, means to with- `draw ycontact material from the lower section of said chamber, a liquid spray device positioned within the upper section of said vessel above the level of the lower ends of said solid feed conduits, said spray device being positioned substantially centrally of the chamber cross-sectional area, means to supply liouid oil charge to said spray device, a separate solid material feed conduit connecting into the top of said chamber and terminating on its lower end above said spray device, baiiies below said last named conduit adapted to form the solid now therefrom into a curtain of freely falling particles which is conned to a central portion of the upper section of said chamber, and means to separately withdraw gaseous hydrocarbons from the lower section of said chamber.

' 14. In a process for converting hydrocarbons involving the utilization of a bed of contact material which gravitates through a conversion zone the steps which comprise, maintaining a space free of said ber| in an upper portion of said Zone, said space ,having metal surfaces adjacent its outer periphery, delivering contact material in a downwardly iiowing. solid stream of discrete particles to a location in said space disposed centrally of its cross sec-tion and a substantial distance above tthe surface of said bed, causing the contact material so delivered to gravitate through said space toward the upper surface oi. said bed. radially deiiecting the particle flow in said solid stream at a level within the upper portion of said space to form a vfreely falling tubular curtain of contact mate-J rial, said curtain occupying an area corresponding to only a central portion of the horizontal cross section of said space above said bed, sup,- plying a liquid hydrocarbon material to at least one location. interiorly of and concentrically with respect to said tubular curtain and spraying said liquid material toward and into a circumferentially complete area of said tubular cur- -taincat a location spaced a .substantialdistance above the Ysurface of said bed to effect contact vcontact material particles' before they reach the .leed surface, whereby the liquid material is prevented from reaching the metal surfaces adjacent the outer periphery of said space.

15. A process for conversion of high boiling liquid hydrocarbons to lower boiling gasoline containing products which comprises, maintaining a substantially compact bed'of particle-form contact material in a lower portion of a con- ;ned contacting zone and maintaining a column :free space in said zone above the surface of isaid bed, withdrawing contact material from the lower end of said bed to promote downward move- -ment-of particles in said bed, introducing a parlticle-form contact material into the upper poration-of said space and causing it to form a shower of particles falling freely to the surface of said 'bed-which shower is restricted to a'circular area (consisting only a portion of the horizontal cross- :section of said space and spaced substantially :away from the walls confining said space, spraying a high boiling liquid hydrocarbon charge downwardly towards said bed from a location :situated in said space above the surface level 'of said bed and centrally of the area occupied by-saidshower, the liquid charge being substantially all restricted throughout said space above the surface of said bed tothe circular area of said space defined by said shower, causing the hydrocarbon charge to ilow downwardly within said bed to complete the conversion to lower Vboiling products and withdrawing said products .from said contacting zone.

.16. A process Vfor conversion of high boiling liquid hydrocarbons to lower boiling gasoline containing products which comprises, maintaining a substantially compact bed of particle-form contact material in a lower portion of a vertical Ahousing and maintaining the surface of said bed ,ata level spaced substantially below the upper end of said housing so as to provide a space free of said column within an upper portion of said housing above the bed surface, introducing a spray `of high boiling liquid hydrocarbon reactantinto said space at at least one point located above the surface of said bed and spaced away from the surrounding housing walls, introducing a particle-form contact material having conversion .temperature into said space above the point of liquid feed introduction and causing it toform ashower of particles falling freely to the surface of said column, which shower is restricted to an area constituting only a portion of the horizontal cross section of said space and spaced away from the surrounding housing walls, said shower laterally surrounding said point of liquid introduction on all sides and being adapted to insure contact between the liquid feed and the contact material particles before said particles .reach .the .surface of said column, thereby preventing the liquid' feed from reaching the metal walls ofsaid housing which surround said space .above said column, owing the hydrocarbon reactant downwardly through a substantial portion ofsaid bed to complete the desired conversion to lowerboiling products existing in the vapor phase and withdrawing said products from the bed `at a level below-its surface. y

.17. A process for conversion of high boiling liquid hydrocarbons to lower boiling' gasoline containing products which comprises, maintaining a substantially compact Vbed of particle-form con- 1'6 :tact material in "a lower portion .of a vertical vhousing and maintaining the surface of said bed `at a level spaced substantially below the upper end of said housing so as to provide a space free of said column within an upper portion of `said Vhousing above the bed surface, introducing a plu- 'rality of streams of contact material ata suitable temperature for said conversion into the upper portion of said space and causing the particles from said streams to gravitate downwardly through said space onto the surface as a plurality of uniformly spaced restricted showers of generally circular cross sectional shape, each of said showers being spaced entirely a substantial distance away from the surrounding housing walls, supplying a stream of liquid hydrocarbon :reactant to a central point within each of said showers a substantial distance above the'surface of said bed and spraying the liquid reactant onto the falling particles to contact the same, vwhereby the feed introduced within each shower is substantially retained withinthe portion of the space cross-section occupied by that shower, passing the reactant downwardly within said bed to complete its conversion to a lower 'boiling Agasiforni product and withdrawing said product from'said bed substantially below its surface.

18. An apparatus for conducting the conversion of high 'boiling liquid 'hydrocarbons in the presence of a moving contact material Awhich comprises: an elongated conversion chamber adaptedto conne a column of particle-form contact material, a, plurality of solid feed conduits terminating on their lower ends at a plurality of points within said chamber spacedaround and near its horizontal periphery and located in theV upper vsection of said chamber but substantially below its upper end, means to withdraw contact material from the lower section of vsaid chamber, a downwardly facing liquid spray device positioned centrally within the upper section of said vessel'above the level of the lower ends of said solid feed conduits, said spray device being positioned substantially centrally of thechamber cross-sectional area, means to supply liquid oil KAcharge to said spray device, members defining a downwardly opening annular shaped passageway .positioned inthe central portion of said cham- -arately withdraw gaseous hydrocarbons from Ythe lower section of said chamber.

19. In an apparatus for conducting conversion of liquid'hydrocarbons in the presence of a moving contact material, an elongated conversion chamber adapted to confine a column'of particleform-contact material, means to withdraw contact material 'from the lower end of Vsaid chamber, means to vcontrol a constant bed surface'level `in said vchamber a substantial distance below its upper end, members defining a-downwardly openiing annular passage positioned centrally inthe lupper section of said chamber, said passage being of restricted cross sectional area amounting fto Ionly a minor fraction of the cross sectional area of said chamber and having substantially'smaller lateral dimensions than said chamber so as to be spaced a'substantial distance 'away from vthe walls of said chamber, members defining-a `confined supplyjpassage arranged'for ldelivering conajvigheso tact material from above to said annular passage, a liquid ,spray device positioned centrally below said annular passage within theupper section of said chamber, means to supply liquid oil charge to said spray device and means to withdraw reactant vapors from said chamber.

y 20. A process for converting high boiling liquid hydrocarbons to lower 'boiling product `comprising, introducing a stream of particle form conl tact material Ain heated condition into Vthe upper section of a conned conversion zone and causing it to form `a shower of particles falling freely through an upper portion of said conversion zone onto a column of said contact material therebelow in said zone, which shower is restricted to a circular area amounting to ,only a portion of the horizontal cross-sectional area of said zone and spacedV substantially away from the walls confining said zone, spraying a high boiling liquid hydrocarbon charge downwardly towardsA said column from a locationabove said bed and centrally ofthe area occupied by the shower, the liquid hydrocarbons'before reaching said bedbeing restricted to the portion of the zone cross section which is defined by the boundaries of said shower of contact material, flowing contact material and hydrocarbons downwardly withinl said column to complete the conversionto lower boiling` products existing in the gaseousphase, withdrawing "the gasiform products from said zone, withdrawing used contact material from the lower portion of said conversion zone at a controlled rate, and supplying contact material at a suitable temperature for said hydrocarbon oonversion through at least one separate confined passage substantially directly onto the surface of said column of contact material in said conversion zone at a rate suicient to maintain substantially constant the level of the surface of said column.

2l. A process for converting high boiling liquid hydrocarbons to lower boiling gasiform products comprising, maintaining a, substantially compact bed of particle form contact material in a lower portion of a conversion zone, withdrawing contact material from the lower section of said conversion zone, replenishing said bed with contact material at least in part as set forth hereinafter and controlling the relationship between the total rates of contact material supply and withdrawal to maintain a substantially constant bed surface level below the upper end of said conversion zone, whereby a bed-free space is provided in an upper portion of said conversion zone above the bed surface, introducing a stream of particle-form contact material having conversion temperature into said bed-free space above the surface of said bed and causing said stream to flow downwardly through a restricted annular passage located a substantial distance above said bed surface and centrally with respect the space cross-section and having a horizontal cross-sectional area substantially below that of said gas space, causing the contact material to drop downwardly from all around said annular passage as particles falling freely through only a central portion of the bedfree space, spaced substantially inwardly from the surrounding housing walls onto the surface of said bed, introducing liquid hydrocarbon feed into said bed-free space centrally below said annular passage and a substantial distance above said bed surface, spraying the liquid downwardly towards said bed, the liquid feed being substantially all restricted before reaching said bed to the central portion of said bed-free space surl 18:` i rounded by the falling particles, flowing the contact material and hydrocarbons downwardly within said bed to complete the conversion and withdrawing gasiform hydrocarbons from the lower section of said bed.

22. In a process wherein high boiling liquid hydrocarbons .are brought into'contact with a substantially compact bed of particle-form solid material in a vertical housing yto effect conversion to lower boiling products, the'methodfor supplying liquid hydrocarbon feed to said bed which comprises, introducing a stream ofcontact material having conversion temperatureV into the upper section of said housing and causing said stream to flowy downwardly through a restricted annular passage located' centrally with respect the housing cross-section and having a horizontal cross-sectionalV area substantially less than that of saidl housing, causing the contact mateflu rial to drop downwardly from all around saidannular passage as 'a shower of freely falling particlesthrough only a central portion of the housing cross-section, spaced substantially inwardly from the surrounding housing walls onto vthe surface of a substantially compact ,bed of said contact material maintained in a lower portionof said housing, introducing liquid hydrocarbon feed into said housing at a location disposed concentrically within said shower and spaced substantially above the surfaceof said'bed and spraying the liquid feed downwardly anddiagonally toward the periphery of said shower in such-a manner that it is substantially retained'within th central portion of said housing occupied by said shower.

23. A process for converting high boiling liquid hydrocarbons to lower boiling gasiform products comprising, maintaining a substantially compact bed of particle-form Contact material in a lower portion of a conversion zone, withdrawing contact material from the lower section of said conversion zone, replenishing said bed with contact material at least in part as set forth hereinafter and controlling the relationship between the total rates of contact material supply and withdrawal to maintain a substantially constant bed surface level below the upper end of said conversion zone, whereby a bed-free gas space is provided in an upper portion of said conversion zone above the bed surface, introducing a downward spray of at least partially liquid hydrocarbon charge into said space from at least one point substantially above the surface of said bed and centrally of the horizontal cross section of said space, restricting said spray substantially entirely throughout said space above the surface of said bed to a central portion of said space substantially spaced away from the walls laterally confining said space, introducing at least a portion of the particle-form contact material supply for said conversion zone into the upper section of said space above the point of liquid introduction and causing it to form a shower of particles falling freely through only a central portion of said space cross-section spaced away from said walls, said shower being concentrically arranged with respectto the point of liquid introduction and inclosing the area of said spray on its outer periphery whereby atomized liquid tending to escape from said area is contacted with the falling particles and prevented from reaching said surrounding walls, flowing the hydrocarbon feed downwardly within said bed to complete its conversion to lower boiling products and withdrawing said products from the lower section of said bed.

o 24. In a process for converting high boiling liquid hydrocarbons at elevated'temperatures in contact with a'bed of contact material moving downwardly througha confined conversion zone, the improved method `for. supplyingahigh boiling liquidhydrocarbon feed tosaid bed without serious --coking ofthe confining wallsand with uniform distribution of.` liquid on' the contact material which method .comprises Vintroducing a stream of heated contact material into the upper sectionof .said conversion zone and causing said streamtojfiow downwardly through a restricted annular passagelocated centrally with respect the walls of thehousing which laterallyconne said, zone, and being spaced substantially inwardlyfrom'saidwalls,:causing the contact material to `dropfdownwardly from all aroundsaid annular passage as acurtain of' freely fallingY particles through only a centralvportion. of the zone cross-.section onto the surface of thebed of said contactmaterial maintained ina lowerportion of said conversion zone, said curtain havingits outer periphery vspaced a substantial distance inwardly from the Walls confining said conversion zonegintroducinga liquid hydrocarbon feed into said zone at a location concentrically within .the curtain and spacedabove thesurface of said bed and spraying -the liquid Ydownwardly inan area of said zone which is restricted'to the central area withintheperiphery of 'said curtain to effect at least Ya 4partia1;contact between the liquid and contact ,material 'before the bed surface is reached.

y,25. 11' tprocess according to claim 23 further characterized in the steps of introducing a va.-

porizved 'hydrocarbon feed intosaid conversion zone above the level of said shower and'flowing the vaporized yhydrocarbon feed downwardly'to and within said ,bed to eifect conversion thereof along with said liquid feed.

52.6'. The method ,of claim "20 further characterizedby the fact that l,said showeriscontrolled ingthegform ofa tubular curtain.

' ERNEST UTTERBA'CK.

FRANK CJ'FAHNESTO CK.

, REFERENCES ,CITED "The "following references are: of record in the file of this patent:

j UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 15450,?,27 Meischke-Smith ;Apr. 3, 1923 A1,516,934: Thornhill ,Nov. 25, 1924 21,-240g347 Page, Jr., et al. .Apr.,29,l.941 2,394,651 Alther, Feb. 12,1946 .2416,230 Simpson Feb. 18,.,.1947 2,432,344 Sinclair ,-Dec. 9, 1947 2,439,372 Simpson .Apr. 6, .1948 2,458,162 v.Hagerbaumer Jan. 4, 1949 OTHER REFERENCES Nollet al.: Houdry Pioneer (page `1), October 1946. 

1. THE METHOD FOR CONVERTING HIGH BOILING LIQUID AND MIXED PHASE HYDROCARBONS TO LOWER BOILING GASEOUS HYDROCARBONS WHICH COMPRISES MAINTAINING A SUBSTANTIALLY COMPACT COLUMN OF PARTICLE-FORM CONTACT MATERIAL THROUGHOUT A PORTION OF THE LENGTH OF A CONFINED SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL CONVERSION ZONE SO AS TO PROVIDE A GAS SPACE WITHIN THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID ZONE, MAINTAINING A CONFINED ACCUMULATION OF PARTICLE-FORM CONTACT MATERIAL ABOVE SAID CONVERSION ZONE, SUPPLYING CONTACT MATERIAL AT A SUITABLE ELEVATED CONVERSION SUPPORTING TEMPERATURE TO SAID CONFINED ACCUMULATION, PASSING A PLURALITY OF CONFINED STREAMS OF SAID CONTACT MATERIAL THROUGH A PLURALITY OF CONFINED PASSAGES EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID ACCUMULATION THROUGH SAID GAS SPACE IN SAID CONVERSION ZONE TO THE SURFACE OF SAID COLUMN OF CONTACT MATERIAL IN SAID CONVERSION ZONE, SAID CONFINED STREAMS EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY THROUGH SAID GAS SPACED ONLY ALONG AS PLURALITY OF UNIFORMLY SPACED LINES NEAR THEPERIPHERY OF SAID CONVERSION ZONE, WITHDRAWING CONTACT MATERIAL FROM THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID CONVERSION ZONE AT A CONTROLLED RATE, INTRODUCING A SPRAY OF A HIGH BOILING HYDROCARBON CHARGE AT LEAST PARTIALLY IN THE LIQUID PHASE INTO SAID GAS SPACE IN THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID CONVERSION ZONE AT A LOCATION POSITIONED SUBSTANTIALLY CENTRALLY OF THE HORIZONTAL CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA OF SAID GAS SPACE, INTRODUCING AT LEAST ONE SEPARATE STREAM OF SAID CONTACT MATERIAL AT A CONTROLLED RATE FROM SAID ACCUMULATION INTO THE UPPER SECTION OF SAID GAS SPACE SUBSTANITALLY CENTRALLY OF ITS HORIZONTAL CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA, PASSING CONTACT MATERIAL FROM SAID STREAM DOWNWARDLY THROUGH A CENTRAL PORTION OF SAID GAS SPACE AS A DISPERSED, FREELY FALLING SHOWER OF PARTICLES, SO AS TO CONTACT SAID LIQUID HYDROCARBON SPRAY IN SAID GAS SPACE BEFORE FALLING ONTO THE SURFACE OF SAID COLUMN, PASSING THE HYDROCARBON CHARGE THROUGH SAID CONVERSION ZONE CONCURRENTLY WITH THE CONTACT MATERIAL FLOW IN SAID COLUMN WITHDRAWING GASEOUS CONVERSION PRODUCTS FROM SAID COLUMN WITHIN THE LOWER SECTION OF SAID CONVERSION ZONE, AND MAINTAINING AN INERT GASEOUS BLANKET WITHIN SAID CONFINED ACCUMULATION ABOVE SAID CONVERSION ZONE TO PREVENT FLOW OF HYDROCARBONS THEREINTO. 